Briggs AnalyticsWhich AI data buyers take closed companies? Who buys the records after the doors shut
Closing or winding down? You get priority. Buyers pay the most while the company's email, files and accounts are still live, so we look at closing companies first.
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In this article
Who takes closed companiesWhat to do firstWho owns the records after closingThe Spirit exampleWho takes closed companies
| Buyer | What it says about closed companies | Published terms |
|---|---|---|
| Pewter (broker) | "Open or closed," 20+ staff, 3+ years in business, U.S. | Examples $110K to $1.2M, paid 5 to 9 days from bid |
| SimpleClosure AssetHub | Built for wind-downs. 150+ deals, 47% include code or data, $10M+ back to startups by end of 2026 (MIT Technology Review) | Not published per deal |
| Grepped | No minimum published, payment in as little as 7 days | $20K to $5M estimates |
| micro1 | Its newsletter ads say "active or closed US businesses with 50+ employees"; its partnerships page says 30+ | $100K+, $500K+, $1M+ tiers |
| Polyshares | Any sector, no minimum published. Offer in 1 to 2 weeks | $100K to $2M+ |
| Mode, Handshake AI, Scale AI | Pages describe operating companies. Not published either way | See each review |
Checked October 22, 2026. If your company is already closed, the question that matters more than the buyer is whether the records still exist and who owns them.
Before you apply anywhere, check your fit with every buyer first. Once you apply to one buyer you are in its process. Our estimate takes about a minute, never asks for a file, and tells you which buyers your company fits. It costs nothing. See which buyers fit your company.
What to do first
- Export before you cancel anything. Slack's free plan deletes history older than a year (Slack), hosting plans delete repositories after a card lapses, and ticketing tools purge closed accounts on their own schedule.
- Fill in the data inventory: every system, the years you can export, how much is there.
- Decide what is out: customer and employee personal data, client-owned files, anything under NDA.
- Get more than one number. A closed company has less leverage than a running one, which is exactly why you shouldn't take the first offer.
By industry: what to export first when shutting down.
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See what my data is worth →Who owns the records after closing
If the company was dissolved, the records belong to whoever the dissolution left them with, usually the owners or the entity that received the assets. If it is in bankruptcy, the trustee or the debtor in possession decides, and a sale needs court approval, which is what Spirit's case is about. Buyers ask for proof you have the right to license. Your lawyer answers that, not the buyer and not us.
The Spirit example
Spirit Airlines, closed and in bankruptcy, put about 100 million emails and 500 million Teams messages up for auction. Google bid $10 million and won, a $12.5 million competing bid was filed afterwards, and Mercor was the $7.5 million backup. The court hearing is set for Nov. 6, 2026 (Travel Weekly). What the Spirit auction tells owners. A closed company with nobody left to negotiate still drew three bids.
Briggs Analytics is independent. Some buyers named on this page may pay Briggs Analytics a referral fee, and owners never pay us anything. Every figure comes from the buyer's own page or the source linked next to it, checked October 22, 2026. Buyers change their terms often, so confirm on their page before you sign. Disclosures
In short
- Pewter: open or closed. SimpleClosure AssetHub: built for wind-downs, 150+ deals. Grepped: 7-day payment.
- micro1's own ads say active or closed businesses. Polyshares publishes no minimum.
- Export before you cancel anything. The records have to exist, and you have to own them.
Questions owners ask.
Can a closed company sell its data to AI companies?
Yes, if the records still exist and the people who own them have the right to license them. Pewter, SimpleClosure AssetHub and Grepped are the clearest fits, and micro1's ads say active or closed.
What about a company in bankruptcy?
The trustee or debtor in possession controls the records and a sale needs court approval. Spirit Airlines' records drew bids of $7.5M, $10M and $12.5M that way.
What should I export first?
Chat history and code repositories, because those get deleted first when subscriptions lapse. Then the ticket system, then email, then accounting. The shutting-down pages list it by industry.
Does a closed company get paid less?
It has less leverage, since it can't wait and can't negotiate exclusivity for the future, which is why getting more than one number matters more, not less.
Closing or winding down? You get priority. Buyers pay the most while the company's email, files and accounts are still live, so we look at closing companies first.
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